Who was Barbara Mitchell?

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The aim of this publication is to identify Canadian interests at stake in future American choices and what the main proposals by the new president will mean for Canada. The purpose is to inform the Canadian public about what strategies in dealing with the new administration and Congress will maximize Canadian prosperity and security.

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Economic freedom is based on the cornerstones of personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to compete, and security of private property. Research shows that individuals living in countries with high levels of economic freedom enjoy higher levels of prosperity.

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In 2003 we added psychiatry to the annual measurement of waiting lists reported in Waiting Your Turn , thus creating the first national, comprehensive, and comparable measurement of waiting times for mental health services available in Canada.

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The primary purpose of a transportation system is to provide the accessibility through which individuals and businesses can exercise mobility. That is, transportation systems provide the accessibility by which people get to jobs and recreation, trade in goods and services, interact with other regions, and develop land. A region's transportation system is a critical factor in its economic viability. The extent, use, cost, and impacts of transportation systems are often considered key factors of production in facilitating growth and economic health. In short, transportation systems provide a key base on which the economy of a nation rests.

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This is the Fraser Institute's fifth annual report on the financial sustainability of health spending by provincial governments in Canada. The report uses a moving 10-year trend analysis to measure sustainability. The report also examines the long-term practicability of attempts by provincial governments to deal with the unsustainable growth in health spending through increased tax burdens and centrally planned rationing. The analysis partially exposes the degree to which Canadians are paying more for government health insurance and getting less in return.

The data and analysis in this report indicate that public health insurance, as it is currently structured in Canada, produces rates of growth in government health care spending that are not financially sustainable through public means alone. This financial crisis is occurring while governments are restricting and reducing the range of benefits covered under publicly funded health insurance. As an alternative to the current approach to health policy, we recommend that governments take a number of actions to ensure that Canadians will not continue paying more and getting less.

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The Fraser Institute's eighteenth annual waiting list survey found that Canada-wide waiting times for surgical and other therapeutic treatments decreased in 2008.

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When comparing Canada's single-payer health insurance system with the pluralistic system in the United States, many people mistakenly assume that Canadians enjoy universal coverage while receiving the same quality and quantity of medical goods and services as Americans, but at lower costs. The reality is that, on average, Americans spend more of their incomes on health care, but get faster access to more and better medical resources in return for the money spent.

In truth, the Canadian health insurance system is not cheap at all: it is actually among the most expensive in the world. Recent statistics show that only three other comparable countries (United States, Iceland, and Switzerland) spend more of their national income on health care than Canada. More importantly, Canadians do not get good value for money from their health system. There are many hidden costs in Canadian health care that are ignored by advocates of single-payer systems.

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